Catch-22

USA 1970

Dir: Mike Nichols

122 mins

Cast: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin; based on Joseph Heller's novel

Rating:  MA 15+, Strong themes, a sex scene and coarse language

Catch-22 came out at the time of the unpopular Vietnam War and though not about that war, its antiwar message couldn’t be clearer and more directed at that war just as it now seems directed at the current messy conflict in Iraq. Looking at it some 35 years later, its flaws seem forgivable since it had the passion and spirit of what the author was aiming for. It caught the insanity of the war and the collection of sordid military people who presided over it with their narrow-minded visions, capitalist rip-off schemes and phony gung-ho patriotism. ...

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

... How do you film one of the most brilliant books of the 20th Century? That's the problem Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry tackled with this patchy but often excellent adaptation of Joseph Heller's blackly comic novel. The film sets out to show the madness of war, and to some extent succeeds, even if it does feel like watching edited highlights from the book.

...Heading a superlative, ensemble cast, Arkin is first rate as Yossarian, deftly portraying his humanity and exasperation. Compare Yossarian's instinct for self-preservation with the selfishness and ruthless, entrepreneurial skill of Milo (Jon Voight) who sees the war as a business opportunity, even to the extreme of bombing the American airbase in return for a deal with the Nazis.

... the strong characters and vivid moments all add up to a worthy attempt at tailoring a classic book for the screen. I'd rather watch this than Saving Private Ryan, anyway.

Graeme Clark, The spinning image

... Nichols and Henry, then hot off the commercial and critical success of The Graduate, reportedly spent two years working on the script for Catch-22. It had been regarded as unfilmable, but they did their best to stuff it into a two-hour movie. Heller endorsed it despite the many changes from his book, and even volunteered that he wish he’d written some of their dialogue himself.

Christopher Lloyd, Film Yap